


Something in the Highland Air

by MidnightandDiamonds



Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 12:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12299715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightandDiamonds/pseuds/MidnightandDiamonds
Summary: "The Scottish Highlands were a welcome relief from the stifling bustle of London, Alfred could see why the Queen had become so enraptured by the area’s beauty – the sense of newfound freedom almost permeated the air around them, no one was free of the thoughts it incited."The privacy of their visit to Scotland allows Alfred and Drummond to finally confront their feelings for one another, it's a bumpy road to accepting the circumstances of their relationship but ultimately they realise that their relationship is worth any risk thrown at them.





	Something in the Highland Air

**Author's Note:**

> I've had the basics for this idea in my head for so long and now that it seems like we might be getting something like this in the show I thought I'd finally write it, so here's another pre-episode exploration of how their relationship might progress in canon! If 2x07 actually does go even remotely like this I will be very very happy!
> 
> Enjoy!

The Scottish Highlands were a welcome relief from the stifling bustle of London, Alfred could see why the Queen had become so enraptured by the area’s beauty – the sense of newfound freedom almost permeated the air around them, no one was free of the thoughts it incited.

The journey itself had been long and arduous, made even more so by the hours upon hours spent sitting mere inches away from Drummond – speaking only when the other members of their party raised conversation. They hadn’t spoken a word in their usual attempt at semi-privacy ever since Drummond’s outburst, the finality of his goodbye still ringing hauntingly in Alfred’s head.

They’d kept up appearances of course, cordiality still flowing easily between them in their professional capacities, yet every word had felt as if they were saying nothing at all - sentence upon sentence and none of it meant a thing. Not a single syllable of true importance.

Alfred wanted to scream, to get angry and confront Drummond over his sudden distance but he couldn’t even do that could he. He couldn’t risk drawing suspicion.

_The person he cared about most in this world was growing further away by the second and there wasn’t a blasted thing he could do about it._

Yet this impromptu getaway was allowing hope to creep into his mind, everyone had started to go their separate ways – using the precious little time they had away from public view for their own means – and Alfred was hoping he’d have the chance to do the same.

Surely enough, his opportunity arose.

For the first hour or so after their arrival, Alfred found himself walking the halls of the Duke of Atholl’s residence - enjoying his exploration yet finding he had little else to do besides aimless wandering.

Eventually he came to halt at what he assumed to be one of the rear entrances of the castle, the view through the window leaving him in a state of awe. Rolling hills in the most vivid green sloped across the entirety of the horizon, foregrounded by a completely untouched expanse of gorgeous field and woodland.

_It was breath-taking._

Whilst Alfred continued to stare longingly at the sight in front of him – debating whether to take the leap and venture out alone or not - he noticed a dark figure cutting a harsh line across the estate.

Of course, it was the one person he’d recognise anywhere.

Any pretence of indecision immediately left his mind, he was out of the door in seconds and making his way towards the rapidly disappearing figure as quickly as he could - without drawing attention to himself.

_He wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass him by._

The rush of panic and his rapid pace meant that each step made him more breathless than the last, but he refused to let up in pursuit of his goal. He was so close now, the man in front of him had reached the edge of the treeline now but Alfred soon followed.

The moment he was sure they were hidden from view he dared to pick up his pace, closing the last vestiges of space between them.

“Drummond!” He announced himself, attempting to compose himself and act as if their meeting was only happenstance – not the act of dubious stalking it might have appeared to be. He didn’t want to scare Drummond off, at least not more than he seemingly already had.

“Alfred.” Drummond replied as he turned in greeting, his voice somewhat strained but with the hint of fondness Alfred had become so accustomed to.

“It’s a beautiful place, is it not?” Alfred accompanied his words with a wonderous glance at the landscape around them; Drummond seemed to relax a little, an incredibly gratifying smile gracing his lips.

_It felt so long since Alfred had last seen that look._

“It certainly is, I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” Drummond stood smiling for a few seconds before the slight awkwardness of their situation encouraged him to turn back to his original path – hesitating briefly and half-turning back again to meet Alfred’s eye, which he took as an indication to walk with him.

Alfred would gladly go anywhere with him, he never even had to ask.

They took up an ambling pace as they fell into step with one another, both simply enjoying the quietness of their surroundings and each other’s company – the realisation of how long it had been since they’d existed in each other’s presence like this gripped Alfred at his core.

It was nice to just be with him – and only him - for once.

For a little while it was enough, the feeling of Drummond next to him and no one around to possibly question their behaviour – however perfectly _friendly_ they were being – made the feeling of freedom Alfred had felt since their first steps in Scotland even more tangible.

However, that brought with it its own complications. Alfred could sense a tension building between them once more as their now-amicable silence continued – the proverbial elephant in the room clouding both their minds, despite both being hesitant to broach the subject.

_Who knew one could feel so suffocated, even in the greatest expanses of wilderness._

The overwhelming sense of liberation began to make Alfred realise they could truly _talk_ ; they could explore every question hanging over their relationship candidly – more truthfully than any gaze could ever convey.

Alfred was _terrified_.

Everything he wanted to say was right at the tip of his tongue but he held back, he knew that bringing it up would change everything – it was either going to be the worst decision he’d ever made, or the best. It was that hope he clung on to as he finally spoke.

“It’s been so long since our last meeting, I was beginning to think your goodbye was somewhat final. It was quite a sudden retreat, I must say.” Alfred tried to play it off humorously, as if he were exaggerating. In reality that goodbye had kept him up at night, fearful that it really had been the end.

The invitation was there, clear as day, for Drummond to explain why he’d acted the way he had that day – Alfred prayed he’d take it.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just been so busy lately. Things in parliament have been difficult since The Irish Question, it hasn’t left much in the way of free time.”

Of course, it was never going to be that easy.

And well, at that point Alfred had had enough. There was something in Drummond’s tone - attentive yet so plainly trying to appease him so that he’d drop the issue – that made the anger he had been keeping bottled up for so long suddenly ignite.

“Why won’t you just talk to me?” Alfred snapped, coming to an abrupt stop. He knew he shouldn’t shout - there was always the chance they’d be overheard even in such a remote location - but in that moment he really didn’t care.

“Excuse me?” Drummond seemed quite dumfounded at his outburst, Alfred found it a simultaneously satisfying yet sickening role reversal of their last meeting.

“Every word between us is just layer upon layer of lies and avoidance! It seems as if all we do is speak in metaphors and excuses. I’m tired of it, Edward! There’s no one else here, no one to hear us. So why will you still not just _talk_ to me?” Anger slowly gave way to a mix of desperation and longing, years of pining after the man in front of him finally coming to the fore. Tired wasn’t a strong enough word for it, Alfred was _exhausted_ \- but he wasn’t going to back down, not now.

Drummond appeared to have other ideas though, it seemed. Pain flashed across his face briefly, perhaps even a little understanding, before being entirely replaced by his own breed of stony anger. He clearly hadn’t expected to be confronted in the way he had, and he certainly didn’t like it.

Alfred had expected a furious reply – words returned with vitriol and spite – but what he got was so much worse than any anger-fuelled argument could possibly have been.

Drummond simply turned around and started to stride pointedly in the direction they’d previously been heading, all without a single word.

 “You’re really just going to walk away.” The sudden rush of tears clogged his throat – cracked his voice – but he refused to let a single drop fall.

_This was it. The end._

In an instant Drummond had spun back around, rapidly closing the space he’d created between them. Any semblance of self-control had completely dissipated; he was unflinching as he halted - barely a pace away – and vehemently let every thought spill from his mouth with no restraint.

“What do you want me to say? That I can’t bear to be alone with you, because the pain of knowing it could never last hurts too much? That every time I think of the wedding I have no idea who I feel like I’m betraying more, her or you?”

Drummond took one final, carefully-placed step forward so that the distance between them was almost entirely gone. In the same movement all the anger seemed to seep out of his body, his voice quietened and his gaze softened – despair, honesty and a reciprocating tearfulness were all that remained.

“Part of me wishes I’d had even the _slightest_ chance of meaning that goodbye to be truly final, because if it had been then at least I could pretend everything was normal – I could get married, have children, make a political name for myself - but it could never be that simple. Just the _thought_ of never seeing you again breaks my heart, losing you is more than I could ever bare. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Breathless seconds extended between them, both on the verge of emotional collapse as every confession – every feeling – swirled wildly between them. It was as if they were suspended in a state of total calmness; the breeze around them flowed almost imperceptibly, any sound was dulled by the intense atmosphere that resonated around them. Their languishing gaze never faltered.

Then in a rush everything began to move again.

Alfred pushed forward into Drummond’s waiting arms, one hand gripping his waist as the other slid firmly to anchor itself at the back of his head – fingers delicately entwining with soft hair. The feeling of a tentative hand on his cheek pulled Alfred languidly out of his reverie, grounding him in the moment in the most indescribably tender way.

He felt every touch, every breath whispered across his skin, every point of contact as Drummond’s hand mimicked Alfred’s own to lightly graze curious fingertips across his scalp. It was utterly ruinous.

_He never wanted it to end._

Lips brushed past lips as they revelled in the feeling of holding – _touching -_ one another without fear of being discovered, yet still neither made the connection into more than a suggestion.

Time seemed to fall away and lose all meaning.

It felt as if they’d become one entity, destined to remain in that moment forever – eternally intertwined, consumed by nature and the irrevocability of their feelings for one another.

Finally, after _so long_ hiding how they felt, their eyes met and everything suddenly clicked.

Leaning in was effortless after that, their lips met in the most painfully slow of movements and Alfred couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. A remnant tear from earlier finally broke free, sliding gracefully down Alfred’s cheek, only to be softly stroked away by Drummond’s thumb.

Kiss after kiss was achingly drawn-out, lips barely separating as one became another then another then another. They’d denied themselves of such sweet agony for so long, neither was willing to let it go too quickly after it had only just begun. Yet the need for breath eventually forced them to part, their hold on one another strengthening to compensate for the loss of contact.

“I love you too.” Alfred whispered warmly, causing a quiet laugh to escape Drummond’s lips in relief – a moment so infectious Alfred could help but join him.

After a little while longer in each other’s arms, they hesitantly began to part – untangling almost as slowly and reverently as they had when they’d started.

Eventually, after both had regained full control of their senses, they began to continue their walk. They could be gone for hours and no one would give it a second thought, enjoying their own freedom too much to care too strongly about how others were exercising theirs.

_It was a glorious thought._

Deep in the woodland of the Scottish Highlands no one would see as Alfred gently linked their hands, or the way Drummond clasped back tightly as if they might be parted at any moment, or even the sweet smiles they shared as the connection was made - despite their conversation continuing as if nothing had happened.

For the first time in their relationship they had a moment that was theirs, and theirs alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave kudos and/or comments, it would be greatly appreciated!


End file.
